My Best Friend
by Afluegy210
Summary: finished! pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase review
1. Chapter One

It was the warmest day Detroit had seen all year and the three Taylor boys- Brad, the eldest at nine, Randy, the middle son of eight, and Mark, the youngest was just six- were taking full advantage of it by playing outside in their backyard. Brad and Randy were, as usual, torturing Mark.  
"Come on Mark, it's not that high!" Brad provoked him. This time, they were trying to get Mark to climb up the tree and jump down from the highest branch in order to 'prove himself as a man.'  
"Yes it is!" Mark fought back.  
"Fine, then we have to hold you up by your ankles." Randy retaliated.  
"Again?" Mark sighed.  
"Yep, it's the only other thing that can prove you." Brad started going along with Randy's idea. "And we get to keep whatever falls out of your pockets." He added. With that, the two grabbed Mark's ankles and turned him upside-down with his face only inches from the ground. A dime and a piece of bubble gum fell out onto the ground.  
"Marky!" Came the shrieking shouts of a small girl from behind them. Brad and Randy let Mark's ankles slip and he fell to the ground in a heap letting out a soft "Ow!" when he landed. They all turned and saw a scared looking six year old girl in blonde pigtails and a purple dress.  
"Hey Kami." Brad smirked.  
"Leave Marky alone!" She yelled.  
"Aw, what's the matter? Marky can't stand up for himself? He needs his dorky GIRLFRIEND to do it for him?" Randy teased.  
"Shut up Randy, she's not my girlfriend." Mark protested.  
"I'm not?" Kamaria asked with tears forming in her eyes. She turned and ran off crying.  
"Kami! Wait!" Mark cried running after her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Hey Kami! Kami wait up!" Mark Taylor, now nine ran to catch up to his best friend as she made her way down the block after school.  
"Hey Mark, what's up?" Kamaria asked as Mark slowed his pace and walked along beside her.  
"Nothing, I was just wondering if you finished that worksheet on nouns that's due today."  
"Yea, and yes you can copy it." She smiled at him knowingly.  
"Thanks, I owe you one." He laughed as he put his arm over her shoulders. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
"Merry Christmas Mark." Kami said shyly as she handed him a box wrapped in metallic green paper with a gold bow on the top. They were both 12 years old now.  
"Thanks Kami." He gently opened it ripping as little of the wrapping as he could. Inside the box was the new Zombie Sneak Attack video game Mark had been begging his parents for. "Holy cow! Kami, thank you so much!" Mark hugged her tightly, then, he turned and grabbed her present off the table. "Um, I got this for you." He said handing her the small purple gift bag with his head down. She eagerly took it and pulled out the small jewelry box. In it was a purple heart charm on a gold chain.  
"Marky!" She gasped, "I love it."  
"Hey Mark, you're standing under the mistletoe." Randy laughed as he walked by. Mark and Kamaria looked at each other for a moment then suddenly Kami leaned in and pecked him on the lips then ran off embarrassed. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Just four months later, Kami had to break the bad news to her best friend.  
"You said you had to tell me something and you sounded sad on the phone, are you okay?" Mark asked concerned.  
"Not really, Mark we're moving."  
"What?" Mark asked stunned. "When? Where?" He asked after a few moments.  
"End of next week, and New York City." She answered him sadly as she held onto her purple heart.  
"New York City?" Mark asked stunned.  
"Yea, I know. My dad got relocated." Kami explained.  
"What am I going to do without you, you're my best friend." Mark sighed almost wanting to cry but holding it back. Kami, however, wasn't able to and a stray tear rolled down her cheek.  
"I'm gonna miss you so much!" Kami threw her arms around him. 


	2. Chapter Two

Tim Taylor strolled into his favorite store, Harry's Hardware, and was greeted by all the guys.  
"Hey Tim." Al, his best friend and assistant on their cable show Tool Time, greeted him.  
"Hey Al, Benny. Hey Harry." He said to everyone.  
"Hey Tim. Oh! I've got a surprise for you!" Harry smiled at his best customer.  
"Oh I love surprises!" Tim grunted in his usual way.  
"We know." Harry joked. "Do you remember by niece Kamaria?"  
"Yea, she was Mark's best friend 'til she moved away like three years ago."  
"Surprise!" Harry explained.  
"Huh?" Tim asked when nothing happened.  
"Hem, hem." Harry cleared his throat loudly. "I said 'Surprise!'" He called again. This time a girl about 15, embarrassed that she'd missed her cue, tumbled out of the back room and smiled.  
"Mr. Taylor!" She greeted him, her smile widening.  
"Kami?" He smiled as he realized who it was. He hugged her then stood back to see how she'd changed. Her hair was a much darker blonde then it had been, she no longer had braces, and she'd grown almost a half of a foot. "Wow, you really grew!" He said stating the obvious. "When did you get back?"  
"Last week, my dad quit and decided to move back." She explained.  
"This is great! Mark will be so happy to see you! I'll go get him." Tim spun on his heel and headed for the door but Kami grabbed a hold of his arm and stopped him.  
"Wait Mr. Taylor. I was going to surprise him at school tomorrow. Do you think we can keep this a secret till them?" She asked hopefully looking up at him.  
"Sure." He smiled back at her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Tim Taylor excitedly entered his home to find his wife, Jill, was just beginning to fix dinner. He kissed her on the cheek and hung up his coat just like he did everyday.  
"Is Mark here?" He asked happily.  
"No he's at karate, why?" Jill asked a little taken aback.  
"You'll never believe who I just saw at Harry's."  
"Who?" Jill asked, her interest peeked.  
"Kamaria." Tim said after a few seconds to keep her in suspense.  
"You're kidding!" Jill explained. "But she moved to New York, they haven't spoken in over a year."  
"Yea I know, her father quit and they moved back."  
"I don't believe this, I'll go get Mark early." Jill said dropped her hot pot mitt down on the counter and headed for the door.  
"Hold you're horses honey." Tim stopped her. "Kami doesn't want him to know yet, she's going to see him tomorrow at school."  
"You mean I don't get to tell him?" Jill asked outing her lip.  
"Nope." Tim smiled at his wife then kissed her. 


	3. Chapter Three

Mark Taylor walked into school with his head facing the ground completely clad in black as usual. He got to his locker where his best friend Ronny was waiting for him.  
"Hey." Ronny greeted him monotonously.  
"Hey Ronny, what's up?" Mark asked as he stuffed some books in his locker and pulled out others.  
"Nothing, except there's a blonde chick staring at you." Ronny informed his friend.  
"What?" Mark looked up suddenly. Sure enough, a blonde girl in jeans and a purple sweater just down the hallway was looking back at him, but she suddenly turned away. "Weird." Mark thought aloud as he closed his locker and headed to his first class. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Kamaria walked away, she'd found Mark but didn't know how to approach him. Fortunately she didn't need to find her own way because when she walked into fifth period English, he was already there. She casually walked over to him holding onto her purple heart. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Mark was sat in class waiting for class to start when the same blonde girl from earlier walked in and locked eyes with him. She walked over to him and a smile spread across her face, something about her smile was familiar to him.  
"Hi Marki." She smiled at him. Mark just starred at her.  
"Marki?" Ronny laughed at his friend.  
"Shut up man." Mark told his friend. "I can't believe this, Kami?" Mark asked as he turned back to her.  
"Yep, I'm back!" Kami informed him and they embraced in a tight hug that had been waiting over three years to happen. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
Mark and Kami walked home together that day just talking. They found out a lot was different, Mark was very into everything black and punk, while Kamaria still loved purple and was more of a preppy pop-rock girl. An awkward silence fell between them. Kami had expected to see the same Mark she remember, especially what she thought was his soft side. This Mark had a hard shell around his heart that almost made her feel sorry for him.  
"So, um, do you still take Karate?" Kami asked trying to make conversation.  
"Yea, I'm a brown belt now."  
"That's great!" Kami nodded.  
"You still dance?"  
"Yea, but not as much." Again the silence fell between them.  
"Um, I'll see you around." Kami said and she speed up and sighed. She learned the hard way that people change and you never really can go home again. 


End file.
